A. Field of the Invention
This relates to making prosthetic devices during ear surgery as well as other otolaryngolical, orthopedic or dental prostheses. The great advantage of this application is that it is made onsite at the time of the surgery so that the surgeon performing ear surgery can immediately shape it to the patient for completion of the surgical procedure.
B. Prior Art
There are prior art references to prosthetic grafts. A representative example of this can be found at Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 7,147,846. This particular application teaches a porous prosthetic implant suitable for repair of blood vessels, which also discloses the method for making and using such a graft.
Another example of this is found at Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,747, and Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,762. None of these prior art references use 3-D CAD or CAM software to produce the grafted material at the time of a surgery.
Another prior art reference is found at Mount, U.S. patent publication number 2007/0264612. This reference employs the used of CAD and CAM technology to manufacture an implant for eventual insertion into the person's mouth. It does not contemplate the manufacture at the time of the procedure as is taught in this application.